Bad headphones

Don't go near http://www.ifrogz.com/earbuds/luxe-buds-earphones-in-ear-mic or http://www.complyfoam.com/products/s-400/.  I'll post more about headphones, but stick with Skullcandy on the low end and http://en-us.sennheiser.com/ and audio-technica, and http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082302&p_id=8323&seq=1&format=2 if you don't have the chedda for pricier 'cans.

Applescript and Nerdtool for unread mail notification redux

Okay, so I also wanted to check mailboxes other than the inbox for different accounts. I extended the previous AppleScript to this:

-- http://erikslab.com/2007/08/31/applescript-how-to-split-a-string/
on split(theString, theDelimiter)
    -- save delimiters to restore old settings
    set oldDelimiters to AppleScript's text item delimiters
    -- set delimiters to delimiter to be used
    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to theDelimiter
    -- create the array
    set theArray to every text item of theString
    -- restore the old setting
    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelimiters
    -- return the result
    return theArray
end split

on run args
    set a to 0
    repeat with arg in args
        set splitted to split(arg, ":")
        set thisAccount to item 1 of splitted
        set thisMailbox to item 2 of splitted
        tell application "Mail"
            if it is running then
                set a to a + the (unread count of mailbox thisMailbox of account thisAccount)
            end if
        end tell
    end repeat
    return a
end run

Now, one can pass any number of "Account:Mailbox" tuples to check all the mailboxes one wishes.

Applescript and Nerdtool for unread mail notification

I previously blogged about updating Mail Unread Menu (http://loganrockmore.com/mailunreadmenu/) -- http://www.k336.org/2012/09/mail-unread-menu-and-53.html  I've long liked the functionality (I really don't like notifications popping up all the time and distracting me -- much better to have an unobtrusive indicator that I can look at when I want), but that went away with my upgrade to Mavericks.  I understand the work involved in keeping software up to date when OSs etc. change, so I have no problems with it falling behind. Instead, I wrote an AppleScript and connected it to Nerdtool (http://mutablecode.com/apps/nerdtool.html) that I really like.  Here's the AppleScript:

on run argv
    set a to 0
    repeat with currentAccount in argv
        tell application "Mail"
            set a to a + the (unread count of mailbox "INBOX" of account currentAccount)
        end tell
    end repeat
end run

One needs to call it with the Mail.app accounts one wants checked:

What would be even better is if some wrote a Cocoa/Objective C app that monitors a file or listens to a name FIFO and displays a short text string in the menubar. I wish I had time to write such a beast -- maybe when I retire...

Notes from a Mavericks upgrade

Went pretty well, all in all.  To get rid of a pesky "can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer" error, I did:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/ShellHere.app